Five residents removed amid concerns at Northampton care home

Redruth nursing home, Weedon Road, Northampton.

Nick Spoors

A care home in Northampton being investigated by police over the death of an elderly resident, failed all its core care standards in an inspection, it has emerged.

Redruth Nursing Home, in Weedon Road, is being monitored by Northamptonshire County Council and the Care Quality Commisssion (CQC) following concerns raised by the public last summer.

Police are also looking into the death of an 87-year-old woman resident who died following a fall in the summer.

A recently-published report revealed the home was inspected in October and enforcement action was taken in all the five core standards of respect, needs, protection from harm, staffing levels and management.

Five residents were either removed or stopped from returning during the CQC visit.

Inspectors arrived at the home to find a paramedic and ambulance were there as a resident needed hospital attention.

The council later took the decision to stop the resident from returning to Redruth after records revealed nursing staff had not carried out a full set of clinical observations in the previous three months and only a partial set that morning.

The council told inspectors two further patients would not be returning to the home from hospital.

One had been taken there with an infection and the other had becone seriously ill at the home, but nursing staff did not seek medical assistance.

Another was removed by the council because nurses could not do a procedure safely for someone who needed a tracheostomy (an incision in the windpipe) and were therefore at risk.

And one more was removed after a paramedic visit because nursing staff did not complete a full set of observations to assess the clinical stability of a declining patient, and they were not given their medication,